Writ jurisdiction cannot bypass a time-barred statutory appeal under VAT law; assessment challenge was dismissed.

A writ petition under Article 226 was held not maintainable where the assessee did not file the statutory appeal under Section 51 of the Tamil Nadu Value Added Tax Act, 2006 within the prescribed time. The appeal provision allowed 30 days from receipt of the assessment order, with a further 30 days' condonable period on sufficient cause, but the writ was filed beyond the outer limit of 60 days. Applying the settled rule that writ jurisdiction should not ordinarily be used to bypass an available but time-barred appellate remedy, the Court declined to examine the merits of the assessment and dismissed the petition.

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Issues: Whether a writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India could be entertained against an assessment order when the statutory appeal under Section 51 of the Tamil Nadu Value Added Tax Act, 2006 was not filed within the maximum permissible limitation period.

Analysis: The assessment order was appealable under Section 51 of the Tamil Nadu Value Added Tax Act, 2006 within 30 days of receipt, with a further condonable period of 30 days on sufficient cause. The writ petition was filed beyond the outer limit of 60 days without availing the statutory appellate remedy. Relying on the settled principle that writ jurisdiction should not ordinarily be exercised to bypass an unavailed and time-barred statutory appeal, the Court declined to examine the merits of the assessment.

Conclusion: The writ petition was not maintainable and was dismissed.

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